May 9, 2025
Ian J. Stewart
The following is an excerpt from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
More than 100 days into his second term, President Trump’s international agenda is beginning to take shape. Domestically, he has focused on immigration and administrative efficiency, while internationally, the president is reshaping the conflict in Ukraine, European defense, the Middle East crisis, and trade tariffs. Of late, the tariff announcements—whose effects have impacted everything from the stock market to the US dollar—have grabbed much of the headlines. But what are the implications of the Trump administration’s trade policy for global security?
While the administration’s efforts to reshape global order are geared toward serving economic and strategic interests domestically, they must be balanced carefully with long-standing commitments to nonproliferation, defense cooperation, and international partnerships—especially in an era of renewed great-power competition. This is especially important since the world’s economic, nonproliferation, and global security interests are increasingly linked.
Presently, the United States has an abundance of international leverage (due to the Trump administration’s tariff policy) and a leader who has demonstrated his willingness to take on matters that may otherwise have been foregone. There is a myriad of interlinked issues that the current administration should seek to address in its trade negotiations in addition to tariffs, including supply chain vulnerability, European rearmament, strategic tradeoffs with China, defense exports, proliferation and extended deterrence, and AI governance. The United States should use its current economic strength and leadership position to secure a new compact—a non-binding set of principles on economic security, inclusive of export controls—with its allies on these key issues.
Continue reading at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
